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He and his friend Wade Peeler had seen the whale earlier in the week and were surprised when it reappeared just as Peeler was deleting videos from his phone to clear space for more footage.
"My heart started racing when I saw small fish swimming to the surface in a frenzy, I knew it must be close," Olynyck said. "This was the most amazing wildlife experience of my life, a true bucket-list moment."
Peeler told the CBC that they had previously kept their distance and were shocked that the whale decided to approach them.
"I was sitting still. I had no intention of getting that close," he said.
Olynyck echoed the sentiment and said they tried to stay about 300 feet away from the whale, but were not sure when or where it would pop up.
"We were lucky and I wouldn't condone the idea of paddling up to a whale, that's for sure," he said.